Globalization of Healthcare Essay Example

India has become prevalent.

The benefits of using Indian radiologists include taking advantage of time differences in different zones. This is advantageous as it ensures efficient time delivery for the country. American doctors can send x-rays to their Indian counterparts and receive translations in the morning, thanks to the time differences. Additionally, outsourcing medical care or medical tourism, as it is known in some circles, helps patients deal with financial constraints and allows them to receive the same medical services for a lower price compared to the higher costs in the United States.

The case study highlights the experience of David Jones, a Texan who chose to undergo triple bypass surgery in New Delhi. The surgical procedure in Delhi only cost him $16,000, while it would have been an exorbitant $250,000 if performed in America. This serves as evidence of the steep healthcare expenses in the United States in comparison to other nations. Importantly, it should be acknowledged that a substantial number of Americans—over forty five million people—are without insurance coverage.

Many Americans are without adequate health insurance and therefore look to other countries for medical treatment because healthcare costs in America are high. Even with the added expense of travel, receiving medical care abroad is still more affordable. This is because developing nations like Singapore or India now have top-notch private hospitals that provide medical services at lower prices.

With the high medical costs and expensive employee medical insurance in America, employers often choose to outsource medical services. Some insurance companies are also seeking offshore medical services that cost over twenty thousand dollars. The globalization of healthcare is rapidly and drastically changing the industry through the exchange of

medical goods and services. This change is facilitated through multilateral agreements between nations. However, the nature of globalization and these agreements tend to favor developed countries, leaving developing and underdeveloped countries with minimal benefits.

In the case study, it is noted that a shortage of radiologists in America results in high costs, with radiologists earning around $400,000. Outsourcing to Indian radiologists would alleviate the workload on American radiologists and reduce expenses. This cost reduction is due to the significantly lower professional fees for Indian radiologists, who earn approximately one-tenth of their American counterparts. Consequently, globalization benefits American population and professionals, while Indians suffer losses.

Despite the disadvantages, globalization also offers advantages for developing or underdeveloped countries such as India. One advantage is that even though Indian radiologists earn significantly less than their American counterparts, their earnings still play a crucial role in improving their financial well-being. Additionally, when patients from developed countries come to developing nations for medical treatment, it brings in foreign exchange. Therefore, outsourcing healthcare services can be beneficial for the receiving country through liberalization (Segouin, Hodges and Brechat). To illustrate this point, Singapore has the chance to adopt American healthcare processes and standards by partnering with insurers like Aetna.

The outsourced company reaps economic benefits, while both the developing nation and the outsourced nation may suffer. For instance, outsourcing medical specialists like radiologists in India could lead to a depletion of radiologists from the Indian public health system, as they opt to work for Americans in order to take advantage of higher pay due to currency exchange. In conclusion, while there are both winners and losers in the globalization of healthcare, all parties involved

derive some form of benefit from the process (Huynen, Martens and Hilderink).

Q3. The globalization of healthcare presents both risks and benefits. It is crucial to implement strategies to mitigate these risks. An important risk is the transfer of microbes and other vectors, which has been amplified by the flattening of the world through globalization.

The globalization of healthcare has led to an increased risk of disease spread among medical tourists when they travel from one country to another. This was demonstrated during a cholera outbreak in Peru in the 1990s, which escalated into a continental epidemic (Huynen, Martens, and Hilderink). Moreover, the globalization of healthcare also facilitates the transfer of other harmful factors like unhealthy lifestyle choices such as smoking. While some countries, like the United States, have tobacco regulations in place, many outsourced nations lack such regulations. To address these risks effectively, it is essential to implement both national and global policies that regulate the globalization of healthcare. One potential approach could involve leveraging the World Health Organization (Pang and Guindon).

America imposes restrictions on certain prescription drugs for its consumers. However, through the globalization of healthcare, consumers can access these drugs by outsourcing medical services. To mitigate this risk, local authorities should collaborate with the outsourced medical services (Frenk and Gomez-Dantes). Another concern is the potential misuse of personal health information (Pang and Guindon).

To minimize risks, it is important to analyze outsourced medical services for information security. Manulife Financial Company is a global financial services group with over 125 years of experience. Although based in Canada, the company operates subsidiaries in Asia and the United States under the name John Hancock. Its range of services

encompasses pensions, group benefits, health insurance, long-term care services, mutual funds, and life insurance (Manulife Financial).

The company provides reinsurance services and focuses on health insurance and globalization of healthcare trends. Manulife aims to be a leading organization worldwide and recognizes the importance of leveraging the globalization of healthcare to achieve its vision.

Phase B: Analysis
Globalization in healthcare is becoming more common in the United States due to high medical costs, a shortage of medical experts, and insurance issues. Manulife Financial, through its subsidiary John Hancock, can take advantage of this trend and benefit from globalization in healthcare. By offering global healthcare services, Manulife Financial can achieve its goal of establishing an international presence. Additionally, their clients will benefit from affordable and high-quality medical services. To understand how Manulife Financial can leverage globalization in the healthcare sector, a SWOT analysis of the firm is necessary.

Phase C: How Globalization of Healthcare can help Manulife Financial
Manulife Financial aims to become a leading multinational company in the financial services industry. Expanding their healthcare programs to global markets will enable Manulife to reduce operational costs and effectively compete in the industry (University of Oregon Investment Group).

Manulife Financial is in a favorable position to achieve their vision due to their asset base, product demand, and decentralized operations. However, they face challenges from intense rivalry, high taxes, volatile market conditions, and uncertainty in their asset base. To address these threats and maximize benefits, it is advised that Manulife Financial outsource medical services. By globalizing healthcare, the company can reduce operational costs and enhance competitiveness by providing premium services at subsidized rates. There are various methods through which the company can accomplish this goal.

For

example, one option for the company to treat their patients in countries other than Canada and the United States is by collaborating with their Asian office. This can be achieved by implementing a limit on treatments that go over a specific amount. In such cases, these treatments can be conducted in more affordable countries.